Un Colpo di Pistola
by Darkwing the Assassin
Summary: Modern AU. Ezio joins the army and meets Leonardo and Altair, also finding himself under the command of General Malik Al-Sayf. Plot happens, eventually.


Ezio glanced down to look at the advertisement in his hands, tapping his foot nervously while he waited in line behind the numerous other young men awaiting their fate. The paper, with letters spelling out the common propaganda idea of "Enlist now, save your country from this fiend," included detailed pictures of soldiers fighting against a huge terrifying beast, beating it back until it ran away with its tail between its legs. Of course, the real enemy wasn't as terrifying in appearance. They were all humans, but the young men believed the other side was despicable and couldn't be forgiven for causing such chaos and taking power of the surrounding countries.

As the line moved forward slowly, Ezio continued to ponder his reasons for leaving his family behind and signing up. Truthfully, Ezio had always wanted to do this rather than go to college and become a banker like his father, yet now that the moment finally arrived, it was hard to take in and realize this was real. It was much different than he'd imagined it would be. He'd imagined it to be... More exhilarating. This was simply nerve-wracking and stressful, and he wasn't sure he'd made the right decision...

Wouldn't Petruccio get lonely with both his siblings gone? Federico had left for college overseas, and Claudia was busy going on dates with her boyfriend, leaving little time to spend at home with her younger brother. He sighed, smiling as he thought of his family. He'd miss them, but it was time to move out from his sheltered life. Besides, it wasn't as if he'd have no internet and be unable to use that to talk to them. The army bases weren't in a third world country.

The army was drafting young men ages eighteen and up, and though he hadn't been drafted yet, he decided to tell his parents he'd enlist anyway, as he was sure his fate was sealed if he'd waited another month or so. His body was in shape, he enjoyed going to the shooting range every now and then, and most of all he wanted to protect his country against the enemy. The warring country had left its marks on the now barren earth where houses and important buildings once lay. Even if he was simply one amongst thousands, Ezio would prove to the world his country was the wrong one to mess with. His strength regained, he was sure he'd made the right decision this time. He'd make his family, and country proud.

Now he was at the front of the line, biting his lip as the rather muscular man behind the desk called for the next person to step up. He approached the desk quickly, the man then asking for his name. "Ezio Auditore da Firenze," he said, with a glint of pride in his eyes. "I am here to enlist in the militia." The man nodded, shoving forward a paper and pen for the young man to sign his life away, dedicated to fighting for the cause for as long as needed.

"Sign on the line below, then step through the door over there," the recruiter signaled to the door behind the desk to his left. "And wait to receive a physical examination." Ezio did as told, scratching the black ink on the line elegantly, already wanting to prove his name was one to take note of. Once finished, he strode to the indicated door, opening it to reveal a room with multiple sections divided by curtains so more than one soldier could be examined at once.

Taking a seat on the row of chairs against the wall, the young man stared blankly ahead of him, paying no mind to the other men around him discussing which jobs in the army they wanted to have. Ezio knew he wanted to be on the front lines, involved in the action and firing guns or throwing grenades towards the attackers. He didn't want a boring desk job that would leave him wishing he'd gone to school for another four years instead. In the middle of his imagining epic gun fights and tearing through buildings to save hostages, a nurse came out from behind one of the curtains, a clipboard in her arms. Her hair was dark brown and tied back into a ponytail, and her eyes a deep green, though the red lips she possessed stood out the most from her features.

"Mr. Auditore, please come into the examination area." Ezio snapped out of his thought process, examining the woman's curvy figure before looking up and walking towards her. "Yes, that is me," he called excitedly. Mm, he quite liked this situation. One of his many flaws was being unable to pass up the opportunity to examine a beautiful lady or two. He had a girlfriend back home named Cristina, but she had broke off their relations once she found out he was signing up for the army. She said the emotional trauma was too much to deal with. _Fine by me,_ he thought. _It's not as if I couldn't get more where that came from..._

His parents had caught him sleeping with his girlfriend more than once. And it wasn't too few times the sex had been spurred by heavy drinking while his house was overrun by popular kids from his high school, partying and puking their guts out. It had been a horrible experience, and sometimes even brought nightmares to his sleep. His parents had no trust over him in that regard, yet there was little they could do to stop it from happening since Giovanni worked late hours at the bank and Maria taught late night classes at the nearby college. But no longer would that embarrassment happen, now that he was free from their rule. The only immediate discernible downside to joining the army was that there were mostly men. Big, muscular, strong, hairy, smelly men. He cringed a little internally at the thought. If only there were more women who volunteered...

Ezio had once again been daydreaming, it seemed. But now, he sat on the examination table, surrounded by curtains on each side, with only the nurse to view him half-naked as he pulled off the college pullover Federico had given him and white t-shirt. He lay them to the side lazily, smirking at an imaginary scenario with the nurse playing through his mind. Oh man, he would totally bone her if she was willing. He grinned idiotically, making no attempt to hide his perverted ideas from the world. Though as the nurse wrapped the cuff tightly around his arm to take his blood pressure, he became aware of complaints from the curtained stall next to his own.

"My eyesight's bad, I can't join the army!" The young man whined, desperately trying to find an excuse. The doctor then spoke, his voice a lot deeper and monotone. "Your eyes have a record of having 20-20 vision, so I know that's not true. Now, calm down and let me finish the examination, sir." The younger man cried out again, wailing and sobbing violently as he tried to get out of his current situation. "B-but I don't want to die! I want to be an artist, an inventor! I have dreams, goals to accomplish! I'm against violence, and I'm not even strong!" He started crying again, tears flowing down his cheeks and down his chin into his stubble of a beard. The doctor rolled his eyes, patting the man on the shoulder. "That's why you'll get training first. Even amateurs like you can learn how to fight." This statement only made the situation worse, and the fearful enlistee cried harder.

After Ezio's physical had finished and he'd returned his clothes to their proper position, he stood up and moved the curtain between the stalls, revealing a thin young man sobbing his eyes out and pleading with the doctor to let him leave. The man was blond, with hair to his shoulders, and his deep blue eyes peered out through the hands now covering his face hopelessly. The doctor sighed, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the man to stop crying, though it didn't seem as if he would. Ezio sheepishly approached the other, the nurse having paid attention to other patients by now. Stepping around the doctor, he stood in front of the weeping man, smiling warmly and pulling the man's hands from his face, placing them to rest in the other's lap.

"Look, it'll be fine... We're all going through the same thing. So quit your whining because I'll help you along the way. Maybe we can even train together. I can teach you about shooting guns." The man stopped crying, instead turning to blushing lightly, smiling a little, his sobs subsiding slowly. He suddenly wrapped his arms around Ezio, the latter not expecting this at all. Ezio froze, his hands half raised in an attempt to push the other off of him, but he decided to grin and bear it when the older man started crying on his shoulder again. This time, though, the tears were from joy. Ezio patted the other on the shoulder, sighing and rolling his eyes. No doubt he'd be stuck with this guy for a while. Not that he minded, so much. At least he could make friends with the man and help him be less cowardly.

Once the blond, pale man had finished, he sat back again and held his arm out expectantly. The doctor glanced at Ezio and nodded, glad he'd finally talked some sense into the man. Ezio's eyes wandered, noticing a red beret laying to the man's side. "Did you say you were an artist?" he questioned quietly, merely saying the first thing that came to his mind, to help break the ice.

"Y-yes," the older said hesitantly. "I've been painting almost all my life. But I have plenty of other hobbies too. Have you ever thought about building a machine that could- Oh, sorry, I'd better not start rambling or you'll be here for hours." He laughed nervously, raising his free hand behind his head. "By the way, my name's Leonardo da Vinci."

Ezio held out his hand to shake with the other. "Mine's Ezio Auditore. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, this is so _exciting_! I didn't think I'd make any friends in the army, but it would be great if we could spend time together!" Leonardo's face brightened up as he spoke that, but soon became a tight frown as he thought about the situation more. "Well, if we're even going to the same base..."

The brown-haired young man sighed and rested his hand on Leonardo's shoulder lightly. "There, there. Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll sort us to the same base." He smiled at the blond man, soon turning towards the exit of the room, waving behind his back. "Well, Leonardo, I hope to see you there. And remember, we're in this together." His footsteps echoed in the room as Leonardo smiled and watched him till he disappeared behind the door.

_Oh my,_ he thought to himself. _I can't wait to see him again... His body would be perfect for anatomical studies! I bet he'd make a good model for a painting... Agh, no Leonardo! Don't get ahead of yourself... We just met, it's not like we're that close yet. But the opportunity is so tempting!_

His mind still mulled over the thoughts even as he left the building, his hands buried deep in his pockets. The clouds above turned dark, a slight rain drizzling out of them to hit the ground lightly. _I'm doomed._ Leonardo's thoughts plummeted again. He was going to be in the army. Hah, what a joke this was. He could barely get himself to kill a fly without feeling pity for the tiny insect. There was no way he was going to kill anyone, willingly or not.

Ezio returned home, entering the house as quietly as possible. It wasn't too late, but he didn't want to bother his parents. He wanted to make up for all the wrongs he'd done, but at the same time he knew he wouldn't stop it even if he'd stayed. Perhaps the army could teach him better discipline. Maria was sitting by the fireplace, reading, when she heard the door open. "Oh, Ezio! I'm glad you're back. Giovanni is cooking dinner, it should be finished soon. Claudia is out with her boyfriend again, but Petruccio kept asking us where you'd gone, even after we already told him you were enlisting." She put down her book in favor of standing up and approaching her son, wrapping her arms around him as he leaned in and returned the embrace. "I'll miss you, Ezio," she said unsteadily, the thought of his departure almost leaving her teary-eyed. "Don't forget to call us often."

"I won't, mom," Ezio smiled, also feeling sad at leaving this life behind for an entirely new one. "Besides, I'm not leaving yet. They have yet to tell me which unit I'm assigned to."

"I know you'll do fine, Ezio." She sighed happily, finally pulling out of the embrace after several moments. It was then that Ezio's younger brother entered the room, ecstatic at seeing him again. "Brother! You're home!" he called cheerily, pulling Ezio's legs into a tight hug. The elder brother bent down to pat Petruccio on the head lightly, ruffling his hair gently.

"Yeah, I'm home," he said softly, smiling as a warm feeling drifted through him. It was nice being home, it truly was. The familiar smell of spaghetti and garlic bread sifted through the house, making him realize how much he'd miss his father's cooking. Although he'd decided to become a banker, Giovanni enjoyed cooking plenty of delicious delicacies for the family when he wasn't working. Ezio straightened, holding Petruccio's hand and pulling him along as he made his way to the room where the enticing scent was coming from. His father was humming to himself happily as he stirred the spaghetti. Ezio was happy to see his father like this. Banking was a stressful job, as many a time his dad came home exhausted, immediately collapsing on the couch or, if on a good day, he'd make it to the bed.

"Daddy, daddy!" Petruccio grinned, running up to hug his father's legs as well. "Ezio's home!"

"Ezio! It's great you're back in time for dinner. I made your favorite spaghetti sauce, as well." Giovanni turned, momentarily focusing more on his sons than the meal he was making. He wrapped his arms around Ezio, smiling gently. "I'm proud of you for doing this, son." That came as quite a surprise to the young man, seeing as previously his father had chided him for not getting a "proper education" and agreeing to enlist. Perhaps his father had changed his mind? Ezio wasn't sure why, though. Maybe he'd accepted his decision and would let the boy live any life he chose. No matter what though, the statement relieved him of all his worries. The younger son continued clinging to Ezio's legs even as he turned to walk towards the dining room table, making him stumble before trying to detach the child. "Petruccio, come on, you can sit next to me at the table."

"But I don't want you to leave, Ezio! Then I'll have no one to play with!" Petruccio whined, now grabbing his elder brother's hand.

"You have your friends from school, though. And mom and dad can play with you when they're not working," he sighed gently, taking a seat on the wooden chair surrounding the table. Petruccio climbed into his lap, preferring that to the chair beside him.

"But I don't want to play with them! You always played army with me and my other friends didn't! Remember the time when we were flying a plane to evade the super fast plane chasing after us with missiles?"

Ezio chuckled to himself. Petruccio really was adorable, and he enjoyed playing imagination games with him. He'd miss the innocence. "I remember that. You know what, Petruccio, let's play army again before I leave."

"Okay, Ezio! But I'm gonna drive the tank this time!" His brother said excitedly.

"Fine, you can have the tank."

Giovanni entered the room, carrying a huge bowl full of spaghetti covered in delicious meat sauce, and setting a basket filled with toasted, warm garlic bread dripping with butter on the table. Ezio's father smiled, happy to see them all at the table again, as he knew it wouldn't last forever. "Petruccio, sit in your chair. I'm sure Ezio is starved. You don't want to cause him to go hungry, do you?" He chuckled as the younger boy quickly jumped off his brother's lap and onto the nearby chair obediently. "No, Papa," the child said, letting out a small laugh.

Maria soon joined them at the table, the boys already having filled their plates with the noodles. Ezio was ravenous, and he took greedy mouthfuls of the luscious flavor, pausing every now and then to the cram buttery bread into his mouth. Petruccio was slightly more reasonable with his meal, actually pausing to chew the food before he swallowed. Giovanni simply shook his head at the boys and chuckled to himself. If there was anything he wouldn't particularly miss, it was the amount of food he had to cook to satisfy a teenage boy's hunger. Maria glanced over to her husband, smiling and reaching to the side to hold his unoccupied hand in hers. "They grow up so quickly," she whispered, her face showing adoration as she watched her sons from across the table. "That they do," her husband agreed quietly.


End file.
